Kidnappers Rejected Our N7 Million Ransom – Parents Of Abducted Ekiti Students Cry Out

Parents of the abducted Ekiti State students have disclosed that they have being unable to raise the ransom demanded by their children kidnappers.

The aggrieved parents disclosed this on Saturday when the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Special Interest Groups, Toyin Agbaje-Malomo visited them.

Recall that gunmen had on Monday attacked a bus conveying the schoolchildren and staff from Apostolic Faith Group of Schools, Emure Ekiti, back to their homes at Eporo and whisked nine among the occupants away to an unknown destination in the forest.

Speaking during a visit to the victim families, the aide disclosed that the governor had given his word that the the abducted students would soon be rescued and the perpetrators punished.

Addressing the embattled parents and families, Agbaje-Malomo said, “You are not alone; we are together in it. Governor Biodun Oyebanji is assiduously working on it so that our people in captivity will be rescued to rejoin families and loved ones.”

Present on the occasion were four parents and families, Dorcas Ojo, the grandmother of three of the children ages 15, 11 and 11, Adebisi Jegede, whose wife and 12-years-old son are in the kidnappers’ den; Oluwadare Oniya, father of abducted nine years old girl and Pastor Clement Adebisi, whose wife was kidnapped.

A worried grandmother, Ojo, in her reaction, said, “For our gathering this morning, it is money we want. The kidnappers have said that if we bring the money now, they will release them to us.

“I have three children there. It is the kidnappers who are calling us that the children are getting weak and that we should bring ‘their’ N15m ransom on time. When we offered them the amount that we have gathered, they rejected it, saying unless the N15m was complete.”

Also speaking, Pastor Adebisi, said that the kidnappers had vowed not to accept anything less than N15m as ransom, adding, “We want the government to please remedy this situation for the release of the abductees.”

Adebisi, who said that the parents and family could see the efforts of individuals, communities and government, said, “With help here and there, we have realised N7m, we begged the kidnappers to accept N7m, but they refused. We are still looking for N8 for it to be completed so that we can rescue these people.

“We see what the government is doing; we saw the helicopter on aerial surveillance on Friday.

“Whenever the kidnappers contact us on the phone, they will be hitting the people with them so that we can hear their cries and feel their pains and take the money to them on time. We need help because they told us that they would not release our people if the money is less than N15m,” the worried husband said.